Hairspray (2007)

3 factual errors

★★★★☆

Starring: John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Nikki Blonsky

Factual error: The movie is set in 1962, but when Tracy misses her bus, she catches a ride on an International-Harvester truck that wasn't introduced until 1969.

Factual error: In the opening "Good Morning Baltimore" scenes you can see yellow center lines in the streets. This was supposed to be 1962, but yellow lines weren't used in the U.S. until after 1971. (01:00:00 - 04:00:00)

hgwalters

Factual error: During "good morning Baltimore" number, streetcars are seen passing behind several times. However, they wear the red and cream livery of Toronto (where it was filmed), when they should be yellow.

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Mistakes

Continuity mistake: When Tracy is running away from the police, there is a shot of her pushing through the crowd until she is free, but the next bird's-eye shot shows her pushing through the marchers all over again. (01:19:55)

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Quotes

Motormouth Maybelle: [to Seaweed and Penny.] Oh, so this is love? [She pauses and then smiles.] Well, love is a gift, a lot of people don't remember that. So, you two better brace yourselves for a whole lotta ugly comin' at you from a neverending parade of stupid.
Penny Pingleton: [Totally serious.] So, you've met my mom?

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Trivia

Trivia: As for John Travolta playing Edna Turnblad, that goes back to John Waters having often cast 'Divine' in his movies. 'Harris Glenn Milstead' was an actor best known for performing in drag as 'Divine', John Waters cast him as Edna in the 1988 version. When the Broadway musical was being cast, they cast Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad, and started a tradition of casting a man in the role of the mother, so the movie is just keeping that tradition going.

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Questions

Question: Why is it that Tracy's hair keeps getting more and more highlights through scenes?

Dakota Shea Gregory

Answer: I believe her hair is also symbolic of white and black integration.

Chosen answer: It's common for filmmakers to subtly alter a character's appearance throughout the film to reflect how the character changes. In this case, as Tracy comes out of her shell, her personality becomes brighter, stronger, and more pronounced, and that is shown by her increasingly lighter hair.

raywest ★